Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry on adapting Karnad's Hayavadana: ‘It’s about a woman’s desire’

Hayavadana (Horse Face), the celebrated play by Girish Karnad, delves into the complexities of identity, love, and selfhood. The story follows two friends, Devadatta and Kapila, and their shared love for Padmini, exploring themes of desire and human emotions. A twist of fate leads to Padmini mistakenly switching their heads, raising profound questions about identity and the mind-body duality.

Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry’s interpretation at the International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFoK) brings a contemporary lens to this classic. Through innovative staging and dual portrayals of Padmini, the performance offers a fresh perspective on Karnad’s philosophical exploration.

A reimagined classic

Chowdhry’s direction goes beyond a mere retelling — it transforms the play into a thought-provoking reflection on fluid identities. By having two actors, Ipshita Chakravarti and Brinda Trivedi, simultaneously portray Padmini, her internal conflict is brought to life with remarkable depth.

“This is about a woman’s desire,” says Chowdhry. “It’s based on Thomas Mann’s The Transposed Heads (1940)), which is a metaphysical journey about the search for perfection.” She adds that the play delves into pluralism, duality, and the timeless philosophical debate of mind over matter.

Between mythology and philosophy

While Hayavadana is often linked to mythology, Chowdhry argues that it leans more towards folklore and philosophy. “Folktales carry metaphors and imagery into our present. We are repositories of that,” she explains. “This is not about Ram and Sita or today’s political mythologies. It’s about the human search for meaning.”

The play’s unique devices — such as the head-swapping sequence — are not just storytelling techniques but reflections of deeper philosophical questions. “It’s more of a philosophical concept than a mythological one,” she underlines.

Theatre that lingers

As the curtains came down on Hayavadana at ITFoK, the audience was left mesmerised by its layered storytelling and emotional depth. The themes of love, desire, and identity continue to resonate, making it a timeless classic.

The production reaffirmed theatre’s power to provoke thought and emotion, proving why Hayavadana remains one of the most compelling stage works of recent times.

The content above has been generated using a fine-tuned AI model. To ensure accuracy, quality, and editorial integrity, we employ a Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) process. While AI assists in creating the initial draft, our experienced editorial team carefully reviews, edits, and refines the content before publication. At The Federal, we combine the efficiency of AI with the expertise of human editors to deliver reliable and insightful journalism.